Solder catch pan



Fgh; ,9, 1932. v E. F. SHIPMAN ,8

SOLDER CATCH PAN Filed Feb. 16, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Invemor. EmanuelF. Ship/11a.

Her/7 Feb. 9, 1932. E. F. SHIPMAN SOLDER CATCH PAN Filed Feb. 16, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Invenfor. [manual F. Ship/flan.

Horn e y.

Patented Feb. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT ,OFFI

EMANUEL r. SHIPMAN, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA SOLDER CATCH PANApplication filed lebruary 16, 1929, Serial No. 340,375.

My invention relates to solder catch pans, more particularly for use oflinemen and others required to form soldered joints on suspended cablesor attach brackets, con-' nectors or other devices to cables, especiallyin connection with suspendedconductors of electric railways and mainsuspended cables for electric lighting systems.

The object of my invention is to provide means to catch the falling hotsolder during the time the lineman is applying the solder to thesuspended cable or wire and eliminate any possibility of v the solder infalling to the ground causing injury to ground men and pedestrians whomay be passing under the wires or nearby when a strong wind is blowing.s

More particularly, my improvement embodies a catch pan made of electricnon-conducting material I and in its preferable form has sides of heavycanvas and an internal bot-.

tom of woven asbestos or other heat resisting material such as chromeleather.

The pan is further provided with means to hold it in an eirtendedcondition when suspair of bars.

The suspension devices preferred comprise manila or other suitable ropesecured to points distant apart about the upper ends of the reinforcedside portions of the'pan and terminate at their free ends in a hookadapted to hook upon the suspended wire upon which i the solder is to beapplied, theconstruction being such that the pan may be suspended neareror" farther from the wire to suit the convenience of the operator, andtoprevent escape of dropping solder.

The collapsible feature ing the extending bars of two of the sides andprovided byhavarranged at the top at the bottom of the the pans must beconveyed in wagons or trucks with other equipment, and by such capacityto be collapsed they occupy a minimum of space and jured by the pilingment uponthem, which would la if they were required extended or opencondition.

improved solder catch pan when to be are less liable to be inof otherheavy equiprgely occur to remain in their full Aside from the moreimportant use of my the work is performed upon suspended cables orconductors, my improvement is futher suitable for use of cable splicersin underground man-hole work, wherein theimproved catch pan prevents theloss of solder falling upon the bottom of the man-hole, and furthermore,

avoids the use of metallic construe tions which might be liable toproduce short circuits.

My improvements comprehend the above and other features fully referredto details described hereinafter and more particularly pointed out inthe claims.

eferring to the drawingsz Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a catch pan,

embodying my improvements, in suspended condition for use; F 1g. 2 1s atransverse SBClJIOH'OIl line 2-2 of Fig. 3; F ig.3 is a transv ersesection on line 3+8 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is aperspective view showlng aspecial use of the suspension means; Fig. 5 isa perspective view of amodification of my improved solder catch pan;

and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a portion of the same taken on lineThe 6-6 of Fig. 5. bottom 2 of the catch pan is formed of a layer ofheavy canvas material with the four sides'turned upward as at 3 and 3a,the

former beinghemmed at their upper portions to form hem spaces 4 whichresp ectively receive the spreading bars 5 andthe latter provided attheir bottom portions with longitudinal spaces 6 in which the spreadinrespectively located, these angles to the bars The side portions?) gbars 7 are bars being at right 5 but at a lower plane. having the hems 4at their upper portions for the spreading bars 5 are reinforced bycanvas lin ingsor inner parts 13,

these the stitches 4a which also form t and said inner linings 13 extendbeing stitched to the side portions 3 by he hems 4; downward remainingtwo sides is advantageous in that being soldered is and somewhat inwardupon the bottom portion 2.

In respect to forming the longitudinal spaces 6 on the sides 3a, saidspaces are formed by the attachment of a lining 8 of canvas stitched at9 to the upper edge of the side portions 30 and again to its lowerportion at the points 10 and 11. It is also to be understood that thecorners of the side portions 3 and 3a are stitched together to make ageneral box-like shape to the catch pan when suspended, and moreover,the ends of the hem portion 4 and the space 6 are preferably sealedafter the insertion of the spreading bars.

12 represents the interior bottom of the pan and is formed of a heatresisting material which is also a non-conductor of electricity, and inthe preferred form is made of woven asbestos. This asbestos bottom issecured in position by the line of stitching 11 which attaches two ofits side edges in position and also forms part of the spaces 6hereinbefore referred to, and has its other edges secured to the canvasbottom by further lines of stitching 14 which also pass through andattach the lining portions 13 to the side portions 3.

While I have found woven asbestos fabric most desirable for the interiorbottom of the catch pan, I do not limit my improved construction to theuse of asbestos as other materials may be used such, for example, aschrome leather which has great heat resisting qualities.

Referring to the suspension means for the pan, the constructionpreferred is formed as follows: Each of the side portions 3, 3, isprovided at its upper part with gromets 15 widely spaced apart andpreferably extending through both the side portions 3 and their lining13. Through said gromets a manila rope portion 16 is passed so that thetwo ends thereof extend inwardly and are spliced together at 17. One ofthe rope ends is further passed through the eye of an S hook 18 andspliced at 19 so that the hook is securely attached to the rope.

In practice, the catch pan may be suspend ed from the wires as indicatedin Fig. 1, and it will be understood that such suspension need not be tothe particular wire being soldered, for in most instances as, forexample, in electric supply wires or those of telegraph systems, wouldinvolve a plurality of such wires upon the poles and, therefore,available to the operator. If, for any reason, it is desirable that thepan should be held close to the wire, where the soldering is being done,the suspension ropes may be wrapped about the cable and kept in theshortened condition by the hook preventing the unwrapping of the rope.as will be understood by reference to Fig. 4. The raising of the pan sothat it is closer to the part desirable where the wind is strong and thehot solder might be blown laterally over the sides of the pan.

Another special advantage in the construction of my improved pan lies inthe fact that while the spreading bars 5 are arranged at the upperportions of two of the sides of the pan and to which the suspensionmeans are secured, the upper edges of the two remaining sides 3a aredevoid of stiff spreading bars and consequently permit the wrists of theoperator to manipulate the tools over said sides, they bending oradapting themselves to the movements of the hands of the operatorwithout interfering with his manipulations and without materiallydisturbing the position of the pan, as would likely occur if theoperation on the wire to be soldered was required to be performed over arigid upper bar or edge of the sides of the pan.

It will be further appreciated that in transporting the pan, the samemay be readily collapsed by folding inward the side portions 3a and.thereafter folding down the side portions 3.

As a modification of my improved insulating solder catch pan/I refer toFigs. 5 and 6. The modified construction therein shown comprises two endboards 3b flat at the top and curved on the underside and connectedtogether by a curved bottom 2a having an inner lining 12a of asbestos orchrome leather which may be stitched to the canvas bottom 2a along theupper edges thereof. as at 20, and may be secured with the canvas alongthe curved under portions of the board ends 36 by staples or wood pins21. (see Fig. 6). so that there is no metal work whatever in the make-upof the pan. The suspension means 17 in this modification is exactly thesame as in the first described construction. but gromets will not benecessary. as the rone suspending devices may extend throu h holes 15aformed in the wooden ends themselves.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and usefulconstruction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated asdesirable. and while I have in the present instance shown and describedthe preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice togive satisfactory and reliable results. it is to be understood that I donot restrict myself to the details as the same are susceptible ofmodification in various particulars. without departing from the spiritor scope of the invention.

Having now described my invention. what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A solder catch pan comprising a shallow textile box-shaped bodyhaving the upper parts of two only of its opposite side portionsprovided with separate spreading means and also having separatespreading means at right angles to said sides but independently locatedat the two opposite sides of the bottom portion of the body,

tom portion of the body composed of a heat resisting and non-electricalconducting mawherein further,

terial, and suspension means connected with the side portions having thespreading means so constructed that the pan may be suspended with itsbottom in a horizontal plane.

2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein further, the inner liningof the bottom of the body asbestos material. r Y

3. The invention according to claim 1, the spreading means for the upperportions of the opposite sides comprise closed pockets in which arearranged independent spreading bars of non-electrical conductingmaterial, and wherein further, the spreading means for the bottomcomprise closed pockets along the juncture of the bottom portions of theremaining sides and the bottom of the body and containing independentspreading bars of non-electrical conducting material.

4. A solder catch pan comprising a shallow rectangular canvas bodyportion open at the top and provided with parallel extending sides,combined with independent parallel stiffening rods encased in the upperedges of two of the parallel sides and also having two parallel encasedstiflening rods arranged along the junctures of the remaining sides andthe botttom of the pan in spaced relation whereby the respective pairsof stiffening rods hold the pan in an extended condition at right anglesto each other, and suspension means connected with the upper ends of theside portions having the stiffening rods encased in their upper ends.

5. The invention according to claim 4, wherein further, the uppersurface of the bottom of the catch pan is composed of a layer of canvassupporting a layer of asbestos material as a heat resisting andnon-electrical covering.

In testimony of which invention, Ihereunto set my hand.

EMANUEL F. SHIPMAN.

a lining for the bots portion is formed of woven

